


penny for your thoughts but a dollar for your insights

by oftennot



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Bonding, Dungeons & Dragons & Diners, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Sprinkle in a little angst and a little pining, as a treat, gratuitous use of syrup, jumping out of windows, palentine's day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oftennot/pseuds/oftennot
Summary: or a fortune for your disaster.
Relationships: Birdie Morlas & Brint Skyback, Birdie Morlas/Brint Skyback
Kudos: 3
Collections: Salty Nein Fics





	penny for your thoughts but a dollar for your insights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [videogamedoc87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/videogamedoc87/gifts).



> For Xombi. Happy Palentine's Day! <3

Brint knows Birdie has been following him. She's been at it for a few weeks now. At first he thought her interest would quickly wane when her efforts proved unfruitful, but he should've known that Birdie doesn't relent until she gets what she (thinks she) wants. He knows his housemates are all extremely curious about the nature of his employment, despite the more reserved folks like Azure and Wynn pretending otherwise, and Brint would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy playing up the mystery. So far Jacint is the only one who knows and he's kept it secret, but Birdie is never one to be left out of anything.

Birdie, bless her heart, is no more stealthy than a clown at a business convention. He spotted her the second she jumped out of the house's second story window this morning to follow him on his commute.

Somehow she managed to catch up with him to the parking lot of the nearby diner, Milly's Place. He stepped inside briefly to say hi to Milly and order his coffee, but he returned to his car to get his wallet which he left in his glove compartment, as planned. Crouching behind the right rear tire, doing a pitiful yet adorable attempt at blending into the scenery, is Birdie.

Brint sighs. "Hi, Birdie."

She jumps at the sound of his voice, nearly flying off into the air like her namesake. 

"Oh, hiya, Brint! Fancy meeting you here," She laughs nervously and stands, feigning surprise at running into him. She's a much better actor than she is spy.

"Likewise," Brint rumbles as he opens his car door and retrieves his wallet. He spares her a welcoming grin as he slips it into the inner pocket of his coat and gestures with his head to the diner. "Care to join me fore some breakfast?"

Her lips quirk down in a disappointed frown, eyes flitting over to his Jeep and back again, and he can practically hear her thoughts screaming _But! But!_ in her head, so he adds, "My treat."

Birdie zooms through the doors of the diner as he opens it. "Okay!"

15 minutes later they're seated in their group's usual booth in the corner by the window, next to the jukebox. Milly brings a plate of whole wheat pancakes and an egg white omelette with bacon for Brint, and french toast with a generous helping of whipped cream for Birdie. She grabs the bottle of syrup and proceeds to drown her plate in it. Brint chuckles at the display and starts digging into his omelette.

"You sure do know the way to a woman's heart, Mr Brint," Birdie says around a mouthful of toast.

Brint laughs and looks down at his plate. "I don't know about that, but I do know that everyone enjoys a good meal."

"That's true," she giggles and wipes her mouth with a napkin. "But I mean it. You're one of the most charming men I've had the pleasure of meeting." Her hand comes to rest on top of his. 

Brint stares at their joined hands, marveling a bit at how small hers is compared to his. If he were a different man, or if it were even just a few years ago, he might turn his hand around in hers and hold it properly. Return Birdie's smile and say he's the lucky one here, to be spending time alone with a fine woman like her. 

But he is a different man now, so he doesn't do any of that. Instead, he sighs and gives her hand a quick squeeze before setting it down on the table gently, busying himself with picking up his fork and taking another bite of pancakes. "Thank you kindly, Miss Birdie, your praise is more than I deserve."

Her face scrunches up in protest, but Brint speaks up before she can say anything else he isn't quite ready to hear yet. "Do you have a lot of experience sneaking out of second story windows?"

The tactic works beautifully. Her cheeks warm a bit but her eyes light up and a devious smile sprouts on her face. "Absolutely! And third story, and even fourth story windows! Haven't yet gotten to five, but I'm itching to try." She takes a sip of her tea. "So you know I've been following you then? You're not cross with me?"

He gives her a kind smile. "It'd take a lot more than pretty woman following me around to make me upset."

Her fingers tap around the teacup as she considers him. "Why all the secrecy with your job? Do you really not want anyone to know? Is it dangerous?"

"To be honest," he sighs, leaning back in the booth and crossing his arms. "None of y'all have asked me directly about my occupation. If you would just ask..." 

It's comical, the way Birdie's eyes nearly bulge out of her head and her mouth falls open in pure shock and affront. "I-but-you didn't-you can't be serious!" She sputters, skipping over her words like a scratched CD.

Brint's laughing is what calms her down, and soon she joins in. "Okay, okay, fine. I suppose our group of friends is not _the best_ at communication.

"It's not that I want to hide anything from y'all," he explains once his chuckles have subsided. "I've found in my years that people's perception of me changes when they learn what my line of work is. Sometimes for the worse. And I guess I..." his knife cuts into his omelette, separating it into smaller and smaller pieces. "Well, I guess I enjoy the way y'all think of me and treat me. I'm afraid of that changing."

He expects an immediate protest from Birdie, since she is usually quick on the up-draw when someone is feeling down, but to his surprise a silence settles over their booth. He chances a glance up at her to see what it is she could be thinking. Birdie's focus is set on the window, her eyes intent on whatever she's seeing beyond the walls of this small diner. 

"I think I get it," she eventually replies, "What you mean. Worrying that if you share too much of yourself with others, they won't like you the same anymore. It's scary. I think all of us are guilty of that. Even me."

She turns to him then and smiles. "But maybe one day we'll get there. When it won't be so scary anymore. I'm fine waiting till then."

Brint can already feel that ever present anxiety draped on his back like shell begin to lift slightly. Become that much easier to carry.

"I'm happy to wait too, Miss Birdie. But I don't think we'll be waiting very long."


End file.
